TSMC Demos Next-Gen Chip Technology to Apple Ahead of 2025 Debut

by

TSMC has already demonstrated prototype 2nm chips to Apple ahead of their expected introduction in 2025, the Financial Times reports.

apple silicon 1 feature
Apple is said to be closely aligned with TSMC in the race to develop and implement 2nm chip technology, which will surpass their current 3nm chips and associated nodes in terms of transistor density, performance, and efficiency. 2nm chips are expected to be integral in underpinning future Apple silicon chips, as well as next-generation data center and artificial intelligence technology. Test results for TSMC's "N2" 2nm prototype chips have already been showcased to Apple and several other key TSMC clients as plans for upcoming chips begin to solidify.

In a separate report, DigiTimes points out that Apple is a key player in TSMC's battle against Samsung and Intel to bring 2nm chips to market, with no sign of the close relationship between the two companies waning. Apple reportedly has no plans to reduce its ‌3nm‌ or 2nm chip orders from TSMC before 2027 at the earliest.

Apple was the first company to utilize TSMC's ‌3nm‌ technology with the A17 Pro chip in the iPhone 15 Pro and ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro Max, and the company is likely to follow suit with the chipmaker's N2 chips. TSMC's production of 2nm chips is slated to begin in 2025, with their first appearance in Apple devices likely to follow soon after.

Tags: Apple Silicon Guide, DigiTimes, Financial Times, TSMC

Popular Stories

iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Here's When to Expect the iOS 26 Public Beta

Tuesday July 15, 2025 11:07 am PDT by
Apple previously announced that a public beta of iOS 26 would be available in July, and now a more specific timeframe has surfaced. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said that Apple's public betas should be released on or around Wednesday, July 23. In other words, expect the public betas of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and more to be available at some point next week. Apple will be releasing...
Read Full Article • 32 comments
iPhone 17 Colors

All 15 New iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Colors Revealed in Latest Leak

Wednesday July 16, 2025 6:50 am PDT by
We may finally have a definitive list of all color options for the iPhone 17 series, ahead of the devices launching in September. MacRumors concept In a report for Macworld today, Filipe Espósito said he obtained an "internal document" that allegedly reveals all of the color options for the upcoming iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models. The report includes ...
Read Full Article • 123 comments
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
Read Full Article • 108 comments
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
Read Full Article
apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports ...
Read Full Article • 167 comments
Apple Hornsby

Apple Store Near Sydney Permanently Closing Later This Year

Monday July 14, 2025 6:14 pm PDT by
Apple today said its store at the Westfield Hornsby shopping mall, in Hornsby, Australia, will be permanently closing in October. Apple Hornsby In a statement shared with Australian tech news website EFTM (via Reddit), Apple said that it has decided not to renew its lease at Westfield Hornsby. Apple said all affected retail employees will be given the opportunity to work at Apple's nearby...
Read Full Article • 26 comments
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
Read Full Article • 114 comments

Top Rated Comments

TheDailyApple Avatar
TheDailyApple
21 months ago
At this rate they‘ll have to start shrinking the atoms
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
What's a computer? Avatar
What's a computer?
21 months ago

I can't tell if you're trying to be funny? The 2nm refers to the transistor width, and there are billions of transistors in such a chip. The 2nm measurement is accurate, not marketing.
Erm... no. According to the IEEE, the "2 nm" node anticipated for 2025 refers to a transistor size ranging from 12 nm to 45 nm. Features smaller than 12 nm aren't expected any time in the foreseeable future:
https://irds.ieee.org/editions/2021/more-moore
The IEEE is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and a reliable source.
Wikipedia says 45 nm, which may be the most relevant for CPUs:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_nm_process
Edited to add: @oneMadRssn pointed out that the measures I cited above, such as "12 nm" and "45 nm", are technically the _gate_ sizes, which are smaller than the _entire_ transistor. Anyway, a feature 2 nm across would be 9 silicon atoms across, resulting in a device too unreliable to use at any temperature, even if manufacturing were perfect.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Yvan256 Avatar
Yvan256
21 months ago
Cue all the "My new M3 Mac that I haven't bought yet is already out of date" comments.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zest28 Avatar
Zest28
21 months ago

I can't tell if you're trying to be funny? The 2nm refers to the transistor width, and there are billions of transistors in such a chip. The 2nm measurement is accurate, not marketing.
2 nm don't actually refer to any physical dimension of the transistor. Its just a marketing term.

5nm from Samsung and 5nm TSMC are not the same at all, nor is 10nm from Intel vs 10nm from TSMC.

Intel was even trying to pass on their 10nm chips as "7nm" due to how TSMC defines it's nanometers.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
oneMadRssn Avatar
oneMadRssn
21 months ago

I can't tell if you're trying to be funny? The 2nm refers to the transistor width, and there are billions of transistors in such a chip. The 2nm measurement is accurate, not marketing.
Eh, 2nm is getting to the point of impossible if it means the entire transistor. A silicon atom is 0.13nm diameter. This would mean the entire transistor is 15 atoms wide. That's not technically impossible, but it's pretty darn close.

Also, not all transistors are the same size. A modern SoC will have dozens of different transistors types on it, of varying sizes. So measuring the smallest transistor doesn't really mean much if most of them are larger.

Rather, my understanding is that since about 65nm, TSMC has switched from measuring the size of the transistor to the width of the gate, or the width of the channel; which is a smaller subcomponent of the transistor. But having a gate width of 15 silicon atoms is more believable, since that means the entire transistor would be roughly twice as wide. And it tells you a bit more about the tech, since knowing the smallest feature size is still useful for the larger transistors on the die.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
coolfactor Avatar
coolfactor
21 months ago

Yes, TSMC will use an even smaller marketing label. These chips are not 2nm across in size. It's just marketing. So they can name it whatever they want.
I can't tell if you're trying to be funny? The 2nm refers to the transistor width, and there are billions of transistors in such a chip. The 2nm measurement is accurate, not marketing.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments